Georg and Ulrich, even though they are enemies, have similar views on life and each other, causing them to have more in common than not. Both men think that they have a right to the land over which they have been feuding. Both are arrogant (each man hopes that his men will be the first to rescue them from under the fallen tree so that he will have bragging rights over the other). Both originally wish death upon the other--the narrator states that each "had hate in his heart." Finally, Saki implies that they both share the same death.

In regards to their thoughts, the narrator comments on the feelings and thoughts that each man has toward the other (hate, murder, pride). While some of these thoughts are evidenced by the men's actions, most are only made available to the reader from the narrator's knowledge of their thoughts.